How It Might Have Gone
by Corwalch
Summary: AU This is a drabble from a rabid plot bunny about how Harry seeing Ron and Hermione at Grimmauld Place might have gone.


_**How It Might Have Gone**_  
by Corwalch

Harry stood on the dingy second floor landing as Mrs. Weasley headed downstairs. Harry moved automatically toward the door she had indicated, but as soon as his put his hand on the serpent shaped knob, he hesitated, debating on whether or not to open it. He wasn't really sure he wanted to see Ron and Hermione now that he was standing in the same building with them.

All summer long they had been dropping tantalizing hints about what was going on, claiming they couldn't tell him more then because the owl might be intercepted. Ron's letters gave Harry the impression that he finally felt he has one-upped Harry because he knew something the Boy-Who-Lived did not. All of Ron's letters while seeming to be friendly all seemed to say: _I know something you don't know… nan nan nanna!_ Harry was willing to concede he might be reading something into the letters that wasn't there, but given Ron's actions prior to the first task he doubted it. He had a feeling the only reason Ron had apologised after the first task was because he realised the fame he got from being the best friend of the Boy-Who-Lived, would soon be lost if he didn't. Harry Had succeeded in getting past the dragon, where many… Ron probably among them… had expected him to fail.

Hermione's letters were equally smug but in a different way. Hers conveyed the impression that in addition to knowing things he didn't know, she felt she had the right to tell him what to do, with messages throughout her letters like: _Don't go doing anything foolish!_ or _Stay out of trouble!_ He always tried to stay away from trouble, but no matter how hard he tried, it seemed to find him. He'd always disliked the smug attitude Hermione got when she knew things other people didn't, but he'd kept quiet about it because she was his friend. In a way she was a lot like Dudley, but instead of causing pain if you didn't do what she wanted, she nagged and pestered you until you gave in and did what she wanted just to have some peace and quiet.

Deciding to put it off for a while, Harry released the knob and started to turn away, only to have the door open suddenly and bushy haired whirlwind crash into him from the other side of the door.

"Oh sorry," Hermione apologised and then she realised who she'd run into and squealed, "Harry! Ron, Harry's here!"

Hermione nearly crushed Harry's ribs with the hug she gave him as she dragged him into the room.

"Good to see you mate." Ron greeted him with a slap on the back as soon as Hermione let go of him.

"When did you get here, Harry?" Hermione's voice overrode whatever Ron intended to say next. "How are you? I bet you are furious with us, aren't you? We wanted to tell you, but Dumbledore made us promise not to. He said you were better off not knowing until you were some place safe. And he was **right**. The dementors found you, even though your family's home was under constant watch to try and keep you safe."

Harry snorted at that. _Safe? Hermione actually thought he was safe at the Dursleys? What dream world was she living in?_ "I wouldn't exactly call a habitually drunken thief a reliable guard Hermione. If the rest of those so-called guards were like him, then I would've been safer in front of a hungry tiger. And I won't even go into how they kept me safe from my _**loving**_ family."

"They were under orders not to approach the house." Ron told him. "Just guard you while you were outside it. According to Dumbledore the blood wards kept you safe while you were in the house."

"One of these days, Dumbledore and I will have a long talk about what constitutes safety." Harry didn't look pleased.

"You're here now and that's all that matters."

Harry noticed that Hermione was giving him a slightly disappointed as she said this. Apparently in her book, he wasn't allowed to disagree with the great and powerful Dumbledore. Well screw that.

"We are sorry mate that we didn't say anything, but Dumbledore made us promise not to tell you even the little bit we were told, in case the owls were intercepted." Ron spoke up when the silence in the room began to grow uncomfortable. "The press is trying to make him out to be senile and you an attention seeking liar. Dumbledore didn't want to give them any more ammunition and the wizarding world finding out you were being guarded twenty-fours hours a day because of You-Know-Who would've been enough to get you both locked up in St. Mungos high security ward."

Harry nodded, making Ron sigh with relief certain that things were now right between them, then Harry said, "Well, you've made your choices, now I just have to figure out what mine are."

"What are you talking about?" Ron and Hermione asked almost in one voice. "What choices?"

"You chose Dumbledore over me." Harry told them slowly as if speaking to a child. "You chose to keep silent to me in exchange for the bits of information he gave you instead of refusing that knowledge and keeping my trust in you. Now I have to decide whether or not it is worth the risk of keeping you two as friends because you might do it again, if Dumbledore told you to keep a secret from me. You've already done so once and you will probably see no harm in doing it again."

"Oh Harry, it wasn't like that at all." Hermione countered. "We were going to tell you, but we couldn't do it by Owl post, in case the owl was intercepted."

"And _**you**_ don't know how to write a letter and put a stamp on it and send it through the _**mail**_, Hermione? You are a muggle-born witch aren't you? You should know how to send a letter through the mail." Harry reminded her. "Heck, even Mrs. Weasley can send a letter through the mail, though she puts way too many stamps on it. Why couldn't you have done the same even if you had to go through a third party to get it to me? I thought you were supposed to be the brightest witch of our age, clearly that claim is somewhat lacking if you can't remember how to mail a letter."

It was clear to Harry that his reminder that she had been raised in the muggle world and should know how to do muggle things had flustered Hermione because her mouth opened and closed several times as she tried to come up with a suitable reply.

"Harry," Ron couldn't understand why he was being so pig-headed. "Dumbledore told us to keep quiet until you got here. If we hadn't agreed, we wouldn't know anything and neither would you about what was going on."

"And I think I would've preferred that," Harry countered, "to the knowledge that when push comes to shove, my _**friends**_ chose Dumbledore over me."

Harry walked out of the room before they could say another word.


End file.
